Homemade Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream Bars
This is a Good Humor Orange Creamsicle copycat recipe with some serious upgrades. We start with a homemade orange sherbet base made with real fruit juice. And you can use your favorite brand of vanilla ice cream for the creamy cool center. The nostalgia is real, and the citrus and cream combo can't be beat!
Ingredients
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream
- 3/4 cup heavy cream, chilled
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup sugar-free 100% orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange extract (optional or sub. lemon)
- Pinch of salt
- 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
- Neon orange gel food coloring (or red + yellow)
Instructions
- Portion out the ice cream for the creamy vanilla filling: Working quickly, place 2-3 tablespoons of ice cream into a small oval cookie cutter.* Press firmly, using the back of a spoon or a flat-bottomed shot glass, and transfer onto a cold sheet tray lined with wax paper. Cover the tray loosely with another sheet of wax paper and place in the freezer.
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Make no-churn orange sherbet: In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the heavy cream + sugar to stiff peaks. Then add the remaining ingredients: orange juice, vanilla, orange extract, salt, and sweetened condensed milk, and mix on low to combine. Add food coloring, if using, starting with a couple teaspoons and adding more until you reach your desired color.
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Add popsicle sticks to the openings in the molds. Fill the molds about 1/3 full with the orange sherbet mixture, just until it almost reaches the popsicle stick, and set in the freezer for about 1 hour. Cover the remaining sherbet mixture with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
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After 1 hour, take the vanilla ice cream ovals and place them in the center of each of the popsicle molds. Take the remaining orange sherbet mixture* and pour it around the sides and on top of the ice cream in a thin layer to fully (or mostly) enclose the vanilla ice cream. Chill until fully set - at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Gently remove the popsicles from the molds, careful not to break them. Serve immediately or transfer to individual plastic bags and keep frozen until ready to serve.
Notes
- Try to find a small mold that fits inside of the cavity of your popsicle mold. Any shape works! Alternatively, you can slice the pint of ice cream into slabs using a sharp knife. Then, cut the ice cream into rectangular shapes that will fit in the center of the popsicles.
- In Step 4, mix the orange sherbet mixture well before continuing with the recipe. After sitting in the fridge for an hour, it's likely to have separated, but will come right back together with a quick mix.
- If you have extra orange sherbet mixture, you can freeze it separately. Transfer it to a metal container and freeze until solid.
Find it online: https://butterandthyme.com/homemade-orange-creamsicles/